


Thirty Bucks

by Stironstep



Series: Teen Wolf Drabbles [3]
Category: Teen Wolf (TV)
Genre: 99 percent fluff, Bets, Competitive Hairdresser AU, Crying, Derek in glasses, Don't try that at home kids, Erica's Untamable Hair, HAM SANDWICHES, Hair Salon AU, Josie The Basket, Light Angst, M/M, Mostly Fluff, She's the BEST!, Two AM Phone Calls, Wholesomeness All Around, only a little, running with scissors, salads, slight jealousy, we stan a queen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-05
Updated: 2019-10-08
Packaged: 2020-11-24 03:43:53
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20901104
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Stironstep/pseuds/Stironstep
Summary: Stiles and Derek both work at a hair salon. Stiles wakes Derek up in the middle of the night to ask for thirty dollars. Stiles needs it to ask someone out on a date. Slightly jealous, Derek obviously says no, so Stiles proposes a bet. The next day, both of them set out to see who can get the most money and clients at work. What happens when Stiles is overconfident in his abilities, and Derek just really doesn't want to lose money? Well, I wrote it.





	1. The Start of Something Awful

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! I'm a new creator on this now shared account. I'll write more fluff. Just a thing to look out for. Also, I'm Happy. Enjoy!

Derek woke up to loud ringing close to his ear. He sat up, his vision blurry, blinking to adjust to his dark surroundings. Grabbing his glasses, he squinted at the bright screen of his old ass phone. Glancing at the contact, he clicked answer. He recognized the other voice instantly.

  
“I need thirty bucks.”

“What the hell, Stiles?”

“I said, I need thirty bucks.”

Derek sat up in his bed, phone pressed up to his ear. “Yeah, but why are you asking me this at—” He checked the time. “At two in the morning? Is it so important that you need to call me, this early?”

“YES! I need it really really soon. I’m planning to ask someone on a date, and I need to bring _something_. As you know I am completely and utterly broke.”

Derek suppressed the surge of jealousy. He had been harboring a major crush on Stiles the minute he walked into the small salon, asking for a job. Of course he didn’t want to help him ask anyone out. “Stiles, we’re hairdressers that work basically minimum wage. We’re both broke.”

“Yeah, but you’re way better at saving it than I am. Come on man, I know you have a huge stash lying around.”

“It’s so I can interview at another salon though, I can’t spare any.”

“You mean the new fancy one that opened?”

“Beta Hair, yeah.”

Stiles sighed at the other end of the line. “Okay, fine. How 'bout a bet? If you end up doing more people’s hair tomorrow at work, I’ll cover some of your shift for my break. But if I end up with more clients, you give me the cash.”

“Seems fair enough. See you tomorrow, Stilinski.”

“G’night, Sourwolf.”

\--------

Derek walked into the salon with a cup of coffee. He didn’t care that he looked extremely unprofessional, he was tired. Stiles had woken him up last night, and he had spent another two hours up. Derek also hadn’t bothered putting in contacts, so bottle-cap glasses it was. He didn’t eat breakfast that morning, either, so he was also starving. Today was off to a bad start. Oh! To add on to the list of things making his day worse, he had a bet going with Stiles. The bet included he do even more work than usual with a fully functioning brain. So… yeah. That was great. Derek’s first client of the day wasn’t too bad. Her name was Jess, and she just needed a quick trim. It was quick, easy, and she left a decent enough tip. If the day kept going like this, Derek would win for sure.

Three hours in, he was still doing okay. It was when he was on his first hair dye of the week, he started to get nervous. The bleach was almost out, and this woman seemed like the type to ask for the manager. He had to take a second to call Scott for some extra dye when he came in for his shift. Thankfully, today luck was on his side. Scott came in at just the right time when (I’m not kidding, folks) Karen started to talk about not tipping. When Derek was done, he heard her mutter near the cashier, “I’m definitely not coming back to this dump.”

Eh, he thought, too bad for her. We’re the best you can get around this side of Beacon Hills. Derek looked over to where Stiles was. The younger male was just starting his shift and was off to a pretty bad start. Erica was in today, and despite them being sorta friends, Ms. Reyes would not let anything bad happen to her hair. Also, she never tipped. Ever. Derek overheard some of their conversation right before he left for a break. And what he heard was worth losing a few moments of downtime.

“Erica, your hair’s blocking the view.” Stiles smirked, trying to get a look at himself in the mirror.

“Stiles, hon, my hair is the view.” she said, her red lipstick flashing in the crappy lighting. Derek just snorted and went to have brunch. Halfway into his vending machine ham sandwich, Stiles ran in, scissors still in hand.

“Derek!” he shouted, panting as he stopped in front of the table he sat at. “I’m calling off the bet!”

Derek stopped eating. “You can’t do that, you were the one who called me at two am saying you need money. This is all your fault and you are going to continue with it.”

Stiles rolled his eyes. “That’s the thing! I bet you came in earlier than me just to have a longer shift, you cheater!”

“No, you just slept in late. I just covered your last ten minutes. And the bet is still on.”

Erica called from the outside room, and Stiles had to retreat back to fixing the she-demon’s hair. Before going back, Stiles put two fingers up to his eyes, and shot them back at Derek. The universal I’m-watching-you sign. Derek rolled his eyes. Then, he returned to his work station.

His next client was a little boy named Jay. His mother sat in the background, nervously tapping her foot. She seemed to not trust Derek. That happens a lot, and Derek just had to reassure her that he was not going to harm her son in any way. Most of the time, Derek didn’t mind looking so intimidating. He didn’t like people, people stayed away. But when he moved to Beacon Hills… oddly enough, he found… friends. Stiles, Isaac, Erica, Scott, Allison, Lydia, and more. But he liked Stiles the best. Stiles never found him intimidating (except when Derek was especially pissed off that day), and Derek grew fond of him. Fond enough that, slowly but surely over a couple of years, had formed into a crush. A gigantic, super-mega crush. Yep, Derek Hale was in love with Stiles Stilinski. Who made a bet which involved Stiles asking someone other than Derek out on a date. Which was why he was so glad he was beating Stiles. His money was not going to a date that might totally flop. Actually, there was just a little bit of logic that you could use that might end in the possible situation of Stiles asking Derek out. That logic was called Derek’s An Idiot For Thinking That Way. Why would Stiles ask him for money that he was going to spend on him? That was DAIFTTW logic talking again. Ugh, self deprecation was exhausting. Now he knew why Stiles hid his with humor. Derek focused back on the little boy’s hair. Once he was done, Jay smiled up at him and said sweetly, “Thank you!”. Obviously, this little boy had been taught manners.

He took a bathroom break, and as he was washing his hands, he counted the number of clients he had in comparison to Stiles. First Jess, then Grace, and Thomas. A lot of other trims, too. Maybe around… six? He did a buzz cut for an eccentric young lady by the name of Mimi, and a bald shave for an old, creepy man. Derek didn’t want to remember his name. Then he did Karen. Ugh. And one more before Jay. That made eleven clients. Today was a good day. And he was winning the bet. After Stiles had finished wrestling with Erica’s hair, he had only four clients that followed. Three of them were grumpy old people, and Stiles didn’t look too happy on his lunch break. As Derek watched the younger male angrily munched on a salad.  
After work, Stiles met up with Derek outside the salon.

“So,” smirked Derek. “You’re not getting thirty bucks.”

“I am very aware.” said Stiles, a deep scowl embedded on his face. “You’re gonna hold this over me forever, won’t you?”

  
Derek patted Stiles on the shoulder on the way to his Camaro. “Yep.”


	2. The Middle of Something Awful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The story continues, this time in Stiles' point of view. (Mostly)

Stiles sat at his desk with his head in his hands. He messed up. He messed up royally. He was just so confident in his abilities to win bets. For once, couldn’t something good happen to him? Running his hands through his hair, he opened his computer up again. One tab had been open for about two weeks. A book that he knew Derek especially wanted. “Heroes Fall Like Dominos” it was called. Stiles had read the description and decided it wasn’t for him. But… if it made Derek happy, he would buy him this ridiculously expensive hardcover book. (It was $25.00 plus tax, for God’s sake!) He just wanted to see Derek smile. If that meant rejecting and breaking Stiles, well, then it would be like Lydia all over again. He would get over it... maybe. Actually, no. Stiles was completely in love with Derek, and he was going to emotionally _die_ if he got rejected, but oh well. Except, now, he didn’t even have the money to make Derek happy! And he also still had to go to work on Monday, so he had to face the handsome man. For now, Stiles would eat ice cream and watch Disney movies. And also cry. He would cry manly, manly tears every time Bambi’s mother died. He could relate. With a bucket of salted caramel ice cream in hand, Stiles switched on the TV. Disney made things better. When it wasn’t buying every company in sight, y’know?

At work, Stiles worked fast and hard to get his mind off of things. And by things, he meant the hunky bearded mess in the corner of the room. Stiles had never asked Derek why he decided to work in a hair salon. It didn’t really seem like his scene. Stiles just figured Derek would’ve worked in like, a bar getting hot people’s numbers or something. Not working with Stiles. Luck hated him, but it seemed that fate probably liked him well enough. I mean, to work with Derek was a blessing itself, but to become good friends? It might have been too good to be true. Considering Derek was emotionally constipated, Stiles was lucky he didn’t kill him when he first made a joke about him looking like Superman. And Derek falling in love with him and returning his feelings? Absolutely impossible. He almost cut off his client’s ear thinking about it. Before they left, Stiles made a remark about Van Gogh, though it didn’t have any heart in it. Maybe that’s why they didn’t tip. While working on other clients, he just focused on their hair and zoned out. Around two pm, there was an hour gap where they didn’t have any clients come in at all. That happened sometimes. And that meant more break time! Whoo! He called in Scott, and they hung out in the break room talking about everything and nothing.

  
“Did you buy it yet?” asked Scott.

“No. I lost a bet, and now I’ll never get the money in time.” said Stiles.

“‘Cause it’s a special edition thing, right?”

“Yeah.”

Scott frowned and said, “You know you don’t have to buy Derek’s love.”

Stiles sighed. “Yes, but… he’ll be so happy, even if I do get rejected.”

“You really need to prioritize your feelings first, dude.”

“I know.” Suddenly, Stiles whipped his head around and ducked under the table. “Scott! Stop talking.”

“What?” Scott looked around, and spotted what Stiles was hiding under the table from. Derek-freaking-Hale. Scott shook his head. Coward, he mouthed. Scott proceeded to say hi to Derek and leave Stiles alone. Traitor.

“Stiles?” Oh, damn. He’s been called out.

“Hey…” said Stiles, crawling out from under the table.

“How did your date go?”

“Huh?”

“Your date. You did ask them out, right?”

“Um,”

Derek rolled his beautiful green eyes. “Oh, come on. Just because you don’t have anything to give, you still have to ask them out.”

“They’d reject me.”

“Whatever you say. But just consider this;” Derek smiled. It had a touch of sadness in it. “The person might like picnics, or a cheap coffee date. Simplicity is attractive, Stiles.”  
“Hmm.” hummed Stiles. His vision started to blur. He really didn’t want to cry in front of Derek! Stiles quickly wiped away the moisture. Mom used to say that showing vulnerability was a good thing, that if you could show the world how you felt, you were strong. Stiles agreed. He agreed that it was good in every other situation. Derek put a hand on his back, and Stiles tensed up. He sniffled and Derek started to rub circles. Stiles just let it all out. You only live once, and you’ve gotta make room for embarrassing moments. He cried, and cried. His chest was tight and he couldn’t breathe. Derek grabbed a tissue box because there was snot and mucus to go along with the tears. God, crying was disgusting. Stiles’ bloodshot eyes looked up to Derek and as best as he could, he mumbled, “Thanks.”

  
“You’re welcome. I’m gonna cover your shift and convince the manager to let you go home.”

“You don’t have to do that!”

“Well, I also want more tips. Someone told me I’m good at saving money.”

Stiles gasped. “Bitch!”

Derek just laughed and exited the room. Stiles put his head on the table and groaned. “He sucks,” he said to no one in particular. “He really sucks. And I really like him.”

Unlocking the door to his house, Derek took a deep breath and stepped in. Today he had to deal with a few things. A double shift, Stiles, and… feelings. Ick. He plopped down on his raggedy old sofa with a pack of M&Ms. Deep in thought with his snacking, he wondered if he could ever have Stiles. It seemed that whenever Stiles had a crush on someone he would go out of his way to talk to them and praise them. He never showed signs of wanting to date Derek. Hell, he didn’t show signs of being slightly interested. And that hurt. He had made that ten year plan for Lydia, and was extremely open about his affection for her. Based on what Scott had told Derek over a casual conversation, Stiles had always been like that. This also meant, if Derek had a chance, he couldn’t tell in the slightest. When Stiles talks about someone he loves, he gets this look in his eyes, this slight change in his voice, a kind of admiration. He never did that when talking about Derek. It’s always a very annoyed sound like he doesn’t like putting up with him. Having no chance with him doesn’t stop Derek from looking at Stiles whenever he talks. He is focused on the person in front of him. Like not listening to Stiles could mean the end of the world. Listening like the end of the world could come, and Derek would die without hearing his babbling one last time. Derek sighs, throwing away his M&M package, and thinks to himself… would Stiles miss me if I was gone? How important am I to the one I love? Probably not that much, actually. He had heard Stiles call him emotionally constipated before, and he took that as an insult. One reason being that Stiles always throws insults Derek's way, and two being that of everyone Stiles hung out with, Derek was the most emotionally constipated. Stiles always tried to make him feel better, and smile more. When that didn't work, he was pretty upset. Derek just figured Stiles didn't like having one friend who just couldn't deal with their emotions. When it came down to it, Derek just wasn't someone you could fall in love with. Sure, he knew he was conventionally attractive, but personality-wise? Mmm, not so much. Derek liked to brood in corners, didn't speak much, had anger issues, trust issues, and past relationship issues. The first two could be attractive in the I-am-twelve-years-old-and-like-Twilight way, but other than that? A whole pill bottle of issues to swallow. Derek was certain. Stiles didn't like him. Much less love him. So whoever he was going to ask on that date had to deserve Stiles. Had to cherish him like an angel. Stiles deserved someone like that. Not Derek.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I'm trying to get these out as soon as possible, while maintaining quality. I also accept any and all constructive criticism you might have for me. Bye! —Happy :D


	3. The End of All Things Awful

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> You know what happens. Happiness.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if chapters on future works are posted late. Life sometimes doesn't have time for our soft bois! <3

When Stiles finally had enough money to buy Derek the book he wanted, Derek had already bought it for himself. It was also the day Derek was leaving for his new job at Beta Hair.  
Stiles was full of nerves, and also sad to see Derek go. They wouldn’t be seeing each other as much anymore, since Derek was moving to the other side of town, where his new work was. Stiles decided to man up, and swallow down all the insecurity that had been building up over two entire years. Armed with a picnic basket and a bloodstream with an unhealthy amount of Adderall pumped into it, Stiles marched to Derek’s house. When he got there, he debated turning back and punching himself inside his car. Thankfully, Stiles took the safer route. Moving his gift from one arm to another, he rang the doorbell. When nothing happened, he rang it a second time. Surprisingly, no one came to the door. Stiles didn’t want to be a Goldilocks, but who was he kidding? He was totally a Goldilocks. What was he carrying a picnic basket around for? Yes, it was for Derek, but that’s not the point. Stiles slowly but surely, opened the door a crack. For some reason, it was open, and it was old. Its age had unfortunately made its mark by the sound of the creaking. Stiles winced as he walked through, closing the door once more. He looked around, and things that should’ve been there were there, just in boxes. Piles (almost mountains) of boxes stacked on top of each other, towering above Stiles. Worried that they were going to topple over and squash him, he moved out of the way. Stiles continued to look around, but his eyes could not stray away from the kitchen. Why? Because in Derek’s kitchen, sat the one thing Stiles would have loved to inherit from his friend. His fridge.  
Oh, Derek’s fridge. It was always fully stocked, and had everything Stiles could ever want. If only he was that good at saving. And grocery shopping, for that matter. Whenever Stiles went out to buy something, he was either sleep deprived or sad. Sometimes both. He thought about all the times Derek had invited him over, just for Stiles to get jealous over how homey his… house was. Stiles still lived with his dad.  
“Derek?” called Stiles. His voice echoing around the empty space, almost eerily. “Derek!” Stiles kept trying to get a reaction from a person who was clearly not home. Finally, he gave up. Not before writing a note and pasting it on his front door.  
Returning home, Stiles opened up his picnic basket and sighed. There wasn’t much in it, so in turn, there wasn’t much to impress Derek. Stiles had made some pretty mean ham-mayo-avocado-and-mustard sandwiches and had thrown in a couple of sodas. To keep things classy, he also made an appetizer plate. While he was making it, he wondered if it was pushing for the first date but then thought to himself, Why the hell not?  
Suddenly, his phone started to ring. It was from Derek. He must have gotten his note.  
“Hey, Der.” said Stiles.  
“Hey Stiles. I just got back from getting gas, so sorry I wasn’t home. Got your note, though.”  
“Yeah, sorry for creeping around your house.”  
“I actually didn’t know you did that, but I’m going to ignore that piece of information for now. I just called to ask why you wanted to meet up?”  
Stiles sucked in a breath. “About that… I think it’ll be better if we meet up in person. I’ll be at your place in ten, okay?”  
“Sure.” then he hung up.  
C’mon Stiles, man up, pull yourself together. This is the part where you ask out Derek Hale. If he doesn’t reciprocate your feelings, he’s on the other side of town. It’s gonna be okay. Stiles took a few deep breaths, and then grabbed his picnic basket off the counter once again. Hopping into his blue baby, he turned on some music that he hoped would calm his nerves. The radio station started playing ACDC. Yay. Stiles just sucked it up, and buckled his picnic basket up. He was going to name her Josie. Josie was his only hope. Save him, Josie-Wan-Kenobi! Stiles chuckled to himself, and turned on the ignition. The ancient Jeep’s engine roared to life. He sped down the road to Derek’s house as fast as the speed limit would allow. Let’s hope he doesn’t mess this up. 

“Hi, Derek.” Stiles said, as the door opened up.  
“Hey,” replied Derek. “Come in. Then you can tell me whatever it is you wanted to tell me.”  
Stiles and Derek sat down on the staircase, since all other couches and chairs were boxed up. Derek looked at Stiles like nothing was wrong. Nothing in the world. That made him feel so much better. Any other time, looking into Derek’s eyes would have been a privilege, but now it was torture. Finally, Stiles had to break the silence. “If you hate me after this, I totally get it. I just need you to listen to me. I’ve had too much Adderall to stop talking.”  
Derek nodded slowly.  
“Derek. I feel totally out of control of this situation, so I just need to say that you’re an amazing person that I can’t believe I have in my life. I actually developed some… I don’t know… feelings? While being friends with you.” Stiles was starting to sweat now. He could feel it from his hands to his toes. All gross and sweaty. Ew.  
“And I totally get it if you reject me. I just wanted to know if you could go on a picnic date with me, or can I eat those sandwiches I made myself?”  
It took Derek a couple moments to compose himself, and get his jaw off of the ground. Dude looked like he was having a heart attack. Then, after the agonizing silence, he sputtered out, “Yes! Of course!”  
Stiles almost cried. “Really?”  
“Yes, really! I’ve liked you for a really long time, and was totally jealous when you asked for the date money that one time.”  
“Y’know the gift I was buying was for you. I just thought I couldn’t ask you out without a bribe or something.”  
Derek laughed. “Wow. You must have like, 63% of your brain missing if you think I would reject you. Stiles, I like you so much it hurts. And I also love your sandwiches. I’d like to have a chance to eat those.”  
“Okay!” 

Hair whipping through the wind, Stiles yelled out to the world. “I’VE GOT A BOYFRIEND! WHOO!” He ducked his head back into the car, and Derek just smiled. Smiled at him big and wide. It was a smile Stiles had never seen before, a smile he wished Derek would have shown him sooner. If they’d been more mature. Ha. As if. This was probably the peak of their sophistication. Later they would be doing things ten year olds would shake their heads at. After the drive to the hill, Stiles had set down the blanket and put out the special items he had put in Josie. He had thanked her for being so nice to the sandwiches, and Derek had laughed at him. Stiles just kissed him so he would shut up. None of this sentimental crap. But still, the kiss was light and sweet. Derek craved more of them. And so Stiles would give in peppering his gorgeous face in kisses. While eating homemade sandwiches from sunset to moonlight. Everything was blissfully domestic.  
“Der.” whispered Stiles.  
“Hm?” Derek asked from Stiles’ back where he was cuddled up like a dark haired teddy bear.  
Stiles stared at him. “Actually, I might just watch you for eternity. The question was stupid anyway.”  
“No!” groaned Derek. “Tell me!”  
Stiles smiled devilishly, and was glad Derek was facing the other way when he did. “When you said that you loved my sandwiches, were you implying that you loved me too?”  
“Maybe.” Derek mumbled, face pressing deeper into Stiles’ hoodie.  
“Oh my god you, love me! Well, I love you too.”  
“Never stop. Never ever stop loving me.”  
Stiles grinned. “Though, I’d like a monthly payment of thirty dollars.”  
Derek pushed Stiles off the blanket. “Absolutely not!”  
Maybe their laughter was a bit too loud, so what if the people who lived nearby didn’t have a good night? This was their time to have fun. Derek would live on the other side of town, but that really wasn’t too far away. It wasn’t even thirty bucks on an Uber.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finally! The fluff I have promised you all! I hope it's not disappointing. First fanfiction, after all. Anyways, please leave comments and criticism, and have a lovely day/night! —Happy

**Author's Note:**

> Please leave comments, this is my first fanfic, I'd really appreciate it. That's all! Hope you enjoyed! 
> 
> -Happy :D


End file.
